MANILA, Philippines — To sing with her idol Whitney Houston onstage was what Pinay international singer Charice dreamt to accomplish. Sadly, it will remain a dream as the great singer, 48, was laid to rest Feb. 18 (Feb. 19, Manila time) in a private ceremony.
Charice, who is a self-confessed fan of the late singer, grew up singing her songs in amateur contests. Now that her idol is gone, the 19-year-old singer could only recall the memory of meeting Houston for the first time about year and a half ago at the backstage of her show at Beverly Hilton Hotel, the same hotel where Houston was found dead on Feb. 11.
She told ABS-CBN News, “Sobrang bait po niya, as in nanginginig ako that day dahil kilala niya ako. Sabi niya napanood niya ako sa DVD tapos nagjo-joke pa siya. Sabi niya, ‘Kinanta mo ‘yung mga kanta ko na effortless.’ Kaya everytime naiisip ko siya, talagang naiisip ko yung nag-meet kami dahil sobrang bait niyang tao.”
The “Louder” singer is preparing for an upcoming Asian tour, which will kick off in Dubai on March 2. But before doing so, Charice vowed to pay tribute to the late music icon.
“Gusto ko pong maging special siya talaga. Pero siyempre, talagang gusto kong gumawa ng something para po sa kanya. Maybe magiging emotional talaga. Ang hirap pa rin tanggapin kasi parang nawalan ka ng kamag-anak. I mean na-discover po kasi ako kasi siyempre dahil kinanta ko ‘yung mga songs niya,” Charice said in the same ABS-CBN News report.
A video of Charice’s “tribute” to Whitney Houston was circulated on the internet two days after the “I Will Always Love You” hitmaker’s death.
The video shows a sobbing Charice while performing “I Have Nothing” with David Foster on the piano.
Charice, who rose to fame due to her powerful rendition of Houston songs like “I Will Always Love You” and “I Have Nothing,” clarified that the video was just a clip from the last stop of the US tour of “David Foster and Friends,” where she happens to be one of the performers.
“Medyo mali nga ‘yung ibang information… Actually, ‘yung video nga na ‘yan ‘yung iba last year, ‘yung iba like 2009,” she said.
Charice’s “Infinity” album tour comes to Manila on March 9. Previous stops include Singapore, March 5; Jakarta, March 7. Charice will also be touring Hong Kong, March 19; and Korea, March 21.
source: mb.com.ph
